Quebecor World Closing CT Plant

MONTREAL—Quebecor World’s three-year retooling program took its toll on the company’s North Haven, CT, facility, which will be closed down by the end of the second quarter. This move, in tandem with a staff reduction at the Islington factory in Etobicoke, Ontario, will result in the loss of roughly 700 full-time workers.

The retooling program, which concludes this year, is aimed at reducing costs and improving productivity across the chain by consolidating volume in larger and more efficient facilities.

The Islington plant produces retail flyers and catalogs, and binds directories. The binding operation, and 60 employees, will be maintained there. North Haven is primarily a general commercial facility.

The company also released its 2007 results, reporting a net loss of (U.S.)$2.2 billion ($16.85 per share) compared to net income of $28.3 million (net loss of $0.04 per share) the previous year. For the first quarter of 2008, it posted an operating loss of $2.8 million compared to operating income of $22.2 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Quebecor World also named Randy Benson its chief restructuring officer.

In other company news, Quebecor World reached a multiyear extension agreement with publishing giant Simon & Schuster. Financial terms of the deal, which runs through 2015, were not revealed. At current levels, Quebecor World will supply Simon & Schuster with more than 100 million hard- and soft-cover consumer books per year via its network of six dedicated book facilities in the United States.

In another deal, Quebecor World signed a $60 million, multiyear agreement with Bauer Publishing of Englewood, NJ. It will print six magazines, which total more than 250 million copies per year.